HAUPPAUGE, USA: SMSC has launched the LAN89218, its first TrueAuto high-performance single-chip 10/100 Ethernet controller.

This device is designed specifically to meet the high reliability standards required by automotive applications such as on-board diagnostics or fast software download interfaces for central gateway and telematics modules, navigation systems, radio head units and connectivity devices.

The LAN89218 offers increased access speed for diagnostics and software downloads over traditionally slower speed interfaces typically used to interface to the vehicle today. Using the LAN89218 high-performance Ethernet interface within today's complex vehicle electrical systems packed full with user functional content can help diagnose issues faster, lower software maintenance time and ultimately bring greater satisfaction to the consumer through shorter repair times and lower cost.

The size of embedded program and data memories used in modern cars is growing rapidly. For example, the newly released BMW 7 Series has more than one GByte of memory while the previous model had just short of 100 Mbytes of memory. While repair shops usually diagnose and fix problems, they also update the software and data embedded in the various control devices inside the car.

The official access into the car for this is the On Board Diagnostics (OBD) connector. Today this standardized connector only provides a slow communication interface. Updating the software of a modern car via this interface takes hours, which significantly increases both repair times and costs.

As a result, many car companies are working on an upgrade of the OBD connector to provide the car with a high-performance data interface for diagnostics and software downloads. The candidate of choice is Ethernet. This initiative is expected to lead to a new ISO/SAE standard that mandates Ethernet as part of the OBD interface for all cars.